Twist of Fate
by AranthianPrincess
Summary: HPDM SLASH! Draco Malfoy, Ice Prince Extraordinaire, is an Auror assigned to work with a former school rival on a case that promises to cross every boundary and then some.
1. 1 Old Assignment, New Partner

_Blanket Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters. The only character that is mine is Maia, my fan-fic character for Harry Potter. If necessary I will have a profile up for her on dA within the next week or so. _

_As some of you might have noticed already, this fic has morphed into a HPDM slash fic. Apologies to anyone who might be upset by this, but the change demanded to be made. I still plan on having lots of action and impossible-to-understand Muggle references simply for the pure pleasure of annoying dear Malfoy. Also, don't be surprised if some Otaku-ness finds its way in here. I kind of modeled Maia after myself and I'm a big fan of J-rock and anime._

**Chapter 1**

**Old Assignment, New Partner**

Draco strode down the hall of the Ministry's second floor, a grim look on his face. Shacklebolt had insisted on seeing him early, eight in the morning if you could believe it! So, being the good little Auror he was now, Malfoy had dragged himself out of his comfortable bed and down to the Ministry at the Head of the Auror Office's request. He even managed to make it to Shacklebolt's office a few minutes early and lifted a hand to knock on the open door. Only Kingsley was present, but Draco never entered without permission just in case. After all, the war had not been kind to people like him.

A haunting melody made him freeze, hand still raised. Fortunately, Kingsley was distracted by the paperwork on his desk and did not notice the blond's odd reaction, or the singing either, apparently. The voice was drawing closer and Malfoy strained to hear the words floating down the hall, but either couldn't make them out or didn't understand the language because they made no sense to him at all. He did sense the emotion behind the words, though, causing strange, fluttery things to happen to his insides. Malfoy was just about to leave his position at the door and wander off down the hall to find the source of the singing, but Shacklebolt looked up and saw him standing there.

"Come in, Malfoy," he growled. Clearly, Kingsley wasn't much of a morning person either. "Have a seat. The other person we're waiting for should be here soon."

The blond did as he was told and staked his claim on one of the two guest chairs in the Auror Head's office. He angled his body slightly so he could still see the door and crossed one ankle over his knee in a relaxed position. Shacklebolt never mentioned what this meeting was regarding or who else was attending, but Draco refused to let that make him nervous. He was a Malfoy after all, and Malfoys did not get nervous.

Just a minute or two later, a knocking sound interrupted the persistent scratching of quill against parchment. Draco looked up to see the other person invited to this meeting, fellow Auror and former classmate Maia Hawkins entered the room and took the only remaining chair without bothering to wait for permission. She gave him a suspicious glare before quickly turning her attention to their boss.

"Now that everyone has finally joined us we can get started," Shacklebolt said, flicking his wand toward the door which closed and locked itself. Neither Auror made a move to speak, instead waiting for Kingsley to explain why he had dragged them down here. "I'm sure you're both wondering why I asked you here, and at the same time no less."

"Not to mention at this ungodly hour of the morning," Draco drawled. Maia merely rolled her eyes, but said nothing.

"Yes, Malfoy, at this ungodly hour of the morning as well," Shacklebolt pressed his fingers into either side of his head, as if nursing a headache. Well, that wasn't surprising, considering who sat in his office. "Before I begin explaining the situation I want both of you to agree to be silent until I finish. Especially you, Hawkins."

Draco quirked an eyebrow, glancing at the dark-haired woman next to him before turning back to Kingsley and nodding. Hawkins responded similarly, though she seemed reluctant to do so.

"Good," Kingsley took a deep breath before continuing. "As you already know, Hawkins has been assigned a very dangerous, high profile case. Unfortunately, no new leads have been produced in over a month and the case has become too dangerous for one Auror to work alone. So, I've decided she will need a partner."

Grey and blue eyes stared at the Auror Head with trepidation. Both of them realized at the same time what Shacklebolt was about to suggest. Hawkins opened her mouth to make some sort of protest, but Kingsley cut her off with a glare. Draco was too stunned to make any comment at all. Instead, he just sat back in his chair and pulled the Ice Prince mask on to hide his surprise.

"As I was saying, she needs someone to watch her back," Kingsley continued after Hawkins had lapsed into a fuming silence. "Malfoy, since you have no pending cases you have been assigned to her case and will work as her partner for its duration. Hawkins, you are still the lead on the case, but I will not be losing one of my best Aurors due to pure stubbornness and pride. You will accept this new arrangement or be pulled from the case."

Hawkins looked like she was about to protest again, but shut her mouth with their superior's threat. Draco, however, had finally managed to process the information thrown at him and spoke up in her place.

"Excuse me, sir," Draco drawled, tacking on the polite title as an afterthought. "Why don't you just have Potter or one of the others be her partner. You know very well the two of us are not going to get along."

"Potter is currently on assignment, Malfoy," Shacklebolt explained. "You are the only one available for the position, so I suggest you two make it work, or else. Dismissed."

With that, Kingsley returned to his paperwork after waving his wand at the door to unlock and open it. Both Draco and Hawkins stood and left, the dark-haired witch exiting ahead of him. She paused just outside the door and waited for the blond to catch up to her.

"I'll see you tomorrow at eight A.M., Malfoy," she said, then departed with a swish of her robes.

Draco stood in the hall for a moment, fuming silently at her arrogance and wishing Shacklebolt hadn't assigned him to the annoying woman. With a sigh, he turned and walked the opposite way down the hall. If he was going to have to be back here tomorrow at such an ungodly hour he would need to take the rest of the day off. Besides, he was going on some kind of mission with Hawkins, his former school enemy. There were preparations to be made, including telling as many people as possible what was going on just in case he didn't return. He even considered placing a temporary Tracking Spell on himself too, but disregarded the idea as too ridiculous before Flooing home for the day.

Draco sighed, making sure no one was around to see or hear the gesture first, and made his way down the hall toward Hawkin's office. The woman was a slave-driver, probably from going through school with Granger as her friend. No self-respecting person was even awake at this hour, let alone at work. The blond shook his head, resigning himself to this cruel twist of fate. Not only was he assigned to work with a Gryffindor, but he was forced to work with one of the most obstinate and irritating Gryffindors. Scratch that, she was the most obstinate and irritating one, no one could outrank her in that respect. Draco theorized it was because of her constant Muggle references.

After what seemed like hours he finally reached the door to her office. It was closed, which the blond hoped meant she wasn't there yet. He knocked anyway and was rewarded with the portal opening of its own accord. Hawkins sat at her desk, not even looking up to see who it was. Arrogant prat, that one. Draco stepped through into the rather small room, noting with annoyance that the door closed behind him, and took in the decor It was relatively simple, though several posters and pictures adorned the walls. He noticed they didn't move, Muggle then. They all seemed to feature the same man too. A closer look told him that, no, in fact, there were several different men, some of them in groups, but one man in particular seemed to be her favorite.

Hawkins must have seen him studying her posters and was now watching him warily as if afraid he would make a snide comment or two. To be honest, Draco had considered it, but the sheer lack of knowledge behind the subject matter had thrown him for a loop and he couldn't think of anything. At least, not anything that would be appropriately scathing. She seemed to realize this, her eyes turning malicious as she stood, pulling something white out of her ears as she did so. The blond's attention went to those next and he found they were small ball-shaped plastic and metal things attached to a white cord that lay across the desk and attached to a blue, rectangular object with a white circle painted with odd symbols and a screen.

Hawkins watched him as he examined her latest surprise. The woman had a lot of Muggle objects for a witch. Finally, his eyes lifted back to hers and he raised a brow questioningly. Yes, he was curious but he would be damned if he asked her outright about her strange interests. Hawkins seemed reluctant to answer at first, no doubt thinking it would be amusing to leave him in the dark for a while, but she gave in with a sigh when he showed no sign of relenting.

"It's called an iPod," she explained, picking the device up and giving him a better look at it. "It's an electronic device Muggles use to play music. Attaching these," here she lifted up the white plastic things, "lets someone listen to it without bothering other people. They're called earbuds and are bloody uncomfortable."

"If they're so uncomfortable then why do you bother to use them?" Draco sneered, glad to finally find something to fault her for. Hawkins gave him a grim smile.

"Normally I don't, but my speakers are broken and I haven't had a chance to fix them," she explained, pointing to a small black, triangular device with metal ends. "I've had to ward all this stuff against magic since electronics are quite sensitive to magical energy, so repairing the device with magic would probably only make it worse. I might just buy a new one. Fortunately, they're not that expensive."

She shrugged and began putting away her Muggle devices. Draco went back to staring at the posters on her walls. "What kind of witch are you?" he asked. "This room is completely devoid of all Wizarding décor. It's like walking into a teenage Muggle girl's bedroom."

"How many teenage Muggle girls' rooms have you been in lately, Malfoy?" Hawkins retorted, her face remaining impassive and bent to her task. The Muggle devices disappeared into a desk drawer and were locked and warded with several spells before she returned her attention to him and noticed what he had been referring to. A distinctly mischievous grin split her features. "Clearly, you don't know what a typical teenage Muggle girl's bedroom looks like. Not many know about them." She waved a hand to take in the posters on the wall.

"They're Muggle aren't they?" Malfoy retorted. "Why wouldn't Muggles know about them?"

"I never said Muggles didn't know about them," Hawkins' grin grew wider. "Typical British Muggles do not. Only certain types of people in the west know about these groups and they are a minority. When I was a child I was actually a part of this group. My Muggle friends introduced me to them around third year."

Draco glared at her, his annoyance level reaching its peak after only a few minutes in the infuriating woman's presence. She watched him for a moment, the expression on her face suggesting she was thoroughly enjoying herself, before his annoyed features finally swayed her to explain herself.

"They're singers and bands. J-rock, visual kei to be more specific. From Japan," she gave him a mischievous look before continuing. "In fact, several of them are wizards. Japan is much more lax on wizard/Muggle relations than we are. Several people have even suggested they're not entirely human. I know rumors about Gackt abound about whether or not he's part Veela. No one has proven it conclusively, though, and he's not saying."

Hawkins shrugged, stepping out from behind her desk and striding toward the door. She ignored Draco's look of astonishment that wizards would ever mingle with _Muggles_ and opened the door, standing next to it as if waiting for him to go first. He tossed her a glare and left the disturbingly Muggle room, stopping in the hall and waiting impatiently for her to seal the door.

"Yes, make sure it's locked," Draco sneered. "We wouldn't want anyone stealing your precious Muggle pictures."

"They're posters, Malfoy," Hawkins replied, her calm voice infuriating him to no end. "Now come on. I'm not Apparating to our destination. We'll take the Floo."

She left him to walk down the hall toward the lift that would take them to the Atrium. Reluctantly, he followed behind, vowing to himself that Kingsley Shacklebolt would rue the day he ever assigned _him_ to work with this Muggle-loving, dark-haired, infuriating prat.


	2. 2 Explaining the Case Over Drinks

_Author's Note: I apologize for taking so long to get this out. It has been a hectic last couple of weeks due to finals and last minute school projects, but I'm out for the summer and plan to make the most of it story-wise. Also, this chapter is a little bit shorter than the last one, but I couldn't think of another page worth of material to put in here without making it too long. So, the Muggle clothing shop in Diagon Alley will just have to wait until next time. Enjoy!_

**Chapter 2**

**Explaining the Case Over Drinks**

Maia reached into the bowl on the mantle and threw a pinch of Floo powder into the hearth, clearly saying "Leaky Cauldron" before stepping into the flames and vanishing in a swirl of color and motion. Draco did the same, wondering why they were going to a pub of all places. Surely she couldn't be expecting to pick up any leads at that old establishment.

Draco's concerns were put to rest, however, immediately after he stepped out into the dim lighting of the main room and spotted Hawkins leaning against the bar. He strode up to her, looking indignant as was his right. The blond avoided the Leaky Cauldron as much as he could. People of his status should not be mingling with the commoners who haunted such establishments as this one.

"What'll you have, Malfoy? My treat," Hawkins demanded as soon as he sidled up to her. At least she was observant.

"It's a bit early in the morning to be drinking," Malfoy pointed out raising an eyebrow to emphasize his point. Hawkins merely shrugged and waited for him to answer her original question. "I suppose I will have tea then. I refuse to dull my senses before the day has even properly begun."

Hawkins didn't seem to care about his choice nor his explanation and nodded at Tom. "Make that two, but iced tea for me. With sugar."

Draco stared at her until she turned to face him and shrugged again. She seemed to like to do that a lot and it got on his nerves. That's probably why Hawkins did it in the first place. The prat...

"What? I don't like hot drinks," was all she said before turning back to the bar just in time to grab her drink and head off to find an empty table in a dark, isolated corner of the pub.

Hawkins took a seat with her back facing the wall Draco noticed with some interest. Maybe it was a habit left over from the war? Or perhaps a product of her Auror training, but Draco had never taken any classes that had left him so paranoid during his training. His temporary partner stared at him impatiently and gestured for him to sit, which he did.

"Why are we here, Hawkins? You can't possibly expect to find any new leads on the case here."

"No," she replied, her voice pitched low as she leaned over the table to close the distance between them, thus reducing the likelihood that their conversation be overheard. "I would just prefer to discuss business somewhere less formal. We're here to bring you up to speed on the case."

"I've read the reports," Draco informed her smugly. "Are you telling me they weren't truthful?"

"Not at all," a mischievous grin spread across Hawkins' face as she spoke those words. "Merely incomplete. They don't explain even half of what is really going on. Kingsley's idea, of course."

"Of course," Draco nodded his head in acknowledgment. If Hawkins wanted to play this game, he was more than willing to oblige her. He was a master after all. "What was left out and why?"

"Ah, that is the question," Hawkins sounded unconcerned and even a little bored as she leaned back in her chair and sipped at her tea, obviously in no hurry to divulge the information. Draco refused to buy into this scheme and waited patiently, mimicking her actions and sipping from his own cup as well. Finally, Hawkins decided to continue their conversation and began speaking again. "Several people have disappeared from England in the last couple months, both wizards and Muggles alike."

Draco nodded at this information. It had been in the report after all, and he knew it all already. The blond stared at the woman across from him incredulously, unhappy with the repetition and urging her to get on with the rest of the story. Hawkins merely chuckled and took another sip before setting her glass down gently and leaning forward once more. Her voice lowered to impossibly quiet tones as she murmured the last bit.

"What wasn't in the reports was the fact that this is not the only country where it's happened."

The blond paused and thought carefully about this new information for the moment. "Which other countries?" He asked finally.

"No one is really certain yet. We've confirmed several of the larger nations that cooperate with us regularly. Among them are Spain, Japan, France, Italy, and the United States. Rumors have come from Russia and China, but we have yet to confirm or deny them."

Draco watched Hawkins in dawning understanding. It was a well-known fact that she was something of a linguist and diplomat, though the latter mostly from innate skills she hadn't really developed. The woman had even been given a special title within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement to indicate her ability to deal with foreign problems, International Liaison Officer.

"That would be why you were assigned to this case then, because you are the Ministry's poster girl for international crises," Draco commented with a sneer.

"It would," Hawkins confirmed. "And also my Muggle background. They know I know how to deal with Muggles and interact with their world. That is also why they had little qualms about assigning a pampered, pure-blood wizard to the case even though they knew we would have to venture into foreign countries and the Muggle realm looking for clues."

Draco diplomatically ignored the slight to his status, accepting the revenge for the snide remark he had made toward her ability to deal with foreigners. Instead, he focused on the fact that they would be doing a lot of traveling, and to places he was not at all familiar with. He had never been outside Europe after all, nor ventured into the Muggle world.

"Where do expect to go first?" He asked, hiding his apprehension well. There was no way she could have seen it, but Hawkins smirked at him anyway.

"I thought we would visit some of my Muggle friends," she said, her voice non-chalant, as if she thought dragging her wizard partner to visit her Muggle friends was an everyday occurrence. "This afternoon, in fact. Is that okay with you?"

Draco glared at her. No, it was not okay with him, but he knew she would only make some sort of snide comment if he said so. Instead, the blond merely nodded his acceptance of the appointment and stood to leave.

"Where are you going, Malfoy?"

Hawkins could really be annoying at times. Draco refrained from gritting his teeth with a great effort and faced her once more. "I thought I would spend some hours in the company of more comfortable surroundings before being forced to visit Muggles." He made sure the word 'Muggles' was forced out between clenched teeth so his detest of the creatures would be made known to his tormentor.

"That would be a grand idea under normal circumstances, however, I highly doubt you have any clothing appropriate for an outing in the Muggle world. We'll have to spend the morning shopping so you don't stick out like a sore thumb."

Draco stared, mildly affronted by her assertion that he could look like a sore thumb with his perfect, pale skin, white-blond hair, and graceful bone structure, not to mention his piercing gray eyes so like that of a storm cloud. He knew he was good-looking, but that apparently didn't matter at all with Muggles. Hawkins smirked again, clearly having understood his surly expression.

"Oh, you needn't worry, Malfoy," she assured him, her tone light and teasing. "My friends will go absolutely insane over your good looks. Still, that doesn't mean you should dress like a crazy person."

Now the woman was insulting his sense of style! The nerve of Gryffindors! It seemed all of the Gryffindors in his year insisted on attempting to humiliate and annoy him at every turn. Draco opened his mouth to protest and say something scathing about her intelligence and choice of friends when Hawkins interrupted.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake! Don't act like that. It's irritating," the woman ordered, her eyes dark with annoyance. Draco couldn't resist the hint of a smirk that twitched at the corners of his lips at the thought of irritating her. "Muggles think robes and such normal fashion for a wizard are odd. I suppose I could always tell them it's a costume, but it would just be easier to get you more suitable clothes. After all, England is not the only place where we'll be interacting with Muggles. I also happen to know that most wizards who haven't lived in the Muggle world know nothing about Muggle clothing, so I'm tagging along to make sure you don't pick out something horrendous."

Hawkins just couldn't stop with the insults today, but Draco allowed that one since it was a well-known fact of their society. Wizards simply didn't know much about Muggles and the few who did or wanted to learn about them, like Arthur Weasley, were considered eccentric by the rest of their kind.

"Very well, but how do you expect to take me to a Muggle store without arousing suspicion and odd looks?" Just because Draco grudgingly agreed with the Gryffindor prat did not mean he was going to make this easy for her. He grinned inwardly at his seemingly impenetrable argument.

"I don't," Hawkins retorted, another smirk blazing to life on her face. "Contrary to popular belief, the wizarding world does have several clothing stores catering to the Muggle style. They're mostly for witches and wizards going on holiday or business to the Muggle world. Several Aurors have been known to frequent these places for undercover work."

Inwardly, Draco groaned. Did she have to have an answer for everything? At this rate he would be drowned in foreign culture and become a Squib from intense exposure to Muggles before the case was solved. For the umpteenth time since yesterday morning, the blond cursed Kingsley Shacklebolt and all his ancestors for assigning him to be Maia Hawkins' partner.

"Come on, Malfoy," Hawkins quipped, standing from the table and leading the way out the back of the pub. "Cheer up. This might actually be an interesting new experience for you. After all, I can't imagine you've done much Muggle shopping. If you're good I might even show you where I got some of my other cool Muggle devices, like a laptop or my iPod."

Draco grudgingly followed Hawkins outside and watched as she pulled out her wand and tapped the appropriate bricks, three up and two across, to open the entrance to Diagon Alley. Well, at least they weren't going far. And, he had to admit, he was curious to see these Muggle shops. He had been up and down Diagon Alley enough to have seen them, but couldn't remember ever running across a shop that sold Muggle items. The blond did wonder about where Hawkins had gotten her iPod, but had assumed she had just bought it at a Muggle store. Maybe she had gotten it here instead. None of this compared to the other question running through his head as they stepped through the arch and into the bustling, crowded street. What was a laptop?


End file.
